


Impenetrable to All but Each Other

by Kiedoran



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Behavior, M/M, Mind Manipulation, No Plot/Plotless, Short, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Temporarily Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiedoran/pseuds/Kiedoran
Summary: "In near parallel to how the inhabitants of Earth roused the soul of Norrin Radd within the Silver Surfer, through Norrin Radd was the little that remained of Galactus’ long-dormant humanity reawakened."A short, mostly canon-compliant interpretation of the relationship between Galactus and Norrin Radd. (Mini-fic)[SPOILERS FOR: Infinity War/Gauntlet/Countdown, Annihilation, multiple minor/unimportant arcs]
Relationships: Galactus/Norrin Radd
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Galan

###  **1: Galan**

It was due to the Silver Surfer’s initial betrayal on Earth that Galactus was first impressed by his herald. From that point on, Galactus watched Norrin Radd’s soul sprout and grow again from the cracks of the cold exterior he had been granted--a pure and righteous spirit that Galactus had broken when he created the Surfer. As he had discovered cosmic power when Galactus first arrived on Zenn-La, Norrin Radd rediscovered his humanity on Earth.

The relationship between Galactus and the Surfer was strained at the best of times after that, and for good reason; Galactus, in a fit of vindictive rage after he sequestered the Surfer to Earth, swept a wave of destruction across Zenn-La like a cataclysmic scythe. As time passed and his ire mellowed, however, Galactus felt a fondness for the Surfer germinating from somewhere deep within him. He took pride in his creation, though he conceded that it was the soul of Norrin Radd that made the Silver Surfer into the noble beacon of hope that he was.

Without the Surfer, Galactus was in need of--and thus recruited--many deserving new heralds. Of these, he found that none were more worthy of his unconditional respect than Norrin Radd, without whom he felt a sort of nagging emptiness that was decidedly separate from his customary hunger. Even the endlessly faithful and devoted Stardust could not fill the vacuum that Norrin had unknowingly created. Ultimately, Galactus was tantalized by and drawn to the Surfer’s resolute autonomy and the uncertainty of his servitude.

Over time, the sharp corners of the bond between Galactus and Norrin softened, and on rare occasions, Galactus would settle for being underfed with the Surfer under his service if only to indulge in Norrin Radd’s endearing fantasy, which Galactus once shared, and experience the Universe both with and through him without tampering with his mind. From this Galactus took rare comfort in the affinity he felt with Norrin Radd--not as Galactus the Devourer, but as Galan; the man, the explorer, forever curious about that which lies beyond. In near parallel to how the inhabitants of Earth roused the soul of Norrin Radd within the Silver Surfer, through Norrin Radd was the little that remained of Galactus’ long-dormant humanity reawakened.

Long had Galactus pondered what he saw when he looked upon the relationships of mortals, and considered himself incapable of understanding it, let alone experiencing it. It was only when he developed the vaguely familial bond between himself and Gabriel Air-Walker that he looked back upon his affairs with Norrin Radd and saw what he had previously construed as nothing more than dispassionate and restrained concern for the continuity of his herald and thus his own survival for what it truly was.

Though he would not outwardly admit it, great and lonely and wandering Galactus only felt at relative peace in the company of the Silver Surfer, who he searched for and tried endlessly to recruit as a herald once again. Time and time again was he thwarted in his clumsy endeavor driven by this newly-found form of affection that Norrin Radd evoked from him, leaving him wanting more--a sensation he had previously encountered solely through his ever-present hunger. Stolid and fearsome Galactus, reduced to wavering silence, confessed to himself in the deep, isolated, intimate reaches of the void. He loved Norrin Radd.


	2. Norrin Radd

###  **2: Norrin Radd**

The instant he first stepped into Galactus’ line of sight, Norrin Radd became a creature of conflict. His soul, enveloped by Galactus within a frigid and unyielding shell of silvery chrome as he endured the white-hot agony of his metamorphosis, was gradually stifled by his new prison and its callously steadfast warden. Norrin’s sense of adventure and his predominant fantasy of exploring the cosmos, however, remained as he traversed the Universe alongside Galactus. Norrin’s nobility, though it was the crucial component of his resignation to his fate as Galactus’ herald, eventually became a hindrance to his duty, and so his spirit was dampened over time as Galactus altered Norrin’s mind to suit his needs.

Perhaps it was inevitable that he broke free of Galactus, or perhaps it was because the neutered and compliant Surfer led Galactus to Earth; either way, it would be years before Norrin’s soul was restored, at which point he looked finally upon Galactus with hate and revulsion and betrayed him, an act of treachery for which he was imprisoned on the planet that liberated him. His sympathy for Earth’s inhabitants fluctuated greatly during his incarceration, as did his feelings towards his former master, but he fended off Galactus’ attempts to regain his heraldship with aid from the heroes of Earth, with whom he came to be acquainted and quickly allied during their struggles.

Norrin’s first escape from Galactus’ improvised prison ultimately ended in anguish when he discovered the devastation Galactus had wrought on his homeworld and was forced to return to Earth to save from Mephisto his beloved Shalla-Bal, who was then torn from him once again, an event that would prove to be reoccurring and equally painful each time. It was only when he again pierced the barrier Galactus had created around Earth and rescued Nova--the Surfer’s replacement as Galactus’ herald--that he finally made peace with Galactus, who treated him with strange consideration to which, he assumed, he had been unaware while his mind was under the effects of Galactus’ tampering.

Norrin Radd’s subsequent escapades across the cosmos were not unaffected by Galactus’ presence, either physically or within Norrin’s own thoughts. He became increasingly comfortable around Galactus the more he ruminated on and interacted with him, and he took notice of the caution Galactus exhibited around him. Slowly, but not without error, the trust between them was rebuilt, and in ways it was stronger than it had been when Galactus had molded Norrin’s mind to fulfill his own requirements.

Though he was the ruin of the life of Norrin Radd, Galactus was the one constant to which the Surfer found he could always return, unlike the volatile heroes of Earth and beyond, and to some extent even Shalla-Bal, for to love and be loved by a cosmic entity is to know peace under its abiding auspices. Indeed, Norrin found Galactus’ cold compassion almost addicting, for each time he returned to Galactus, he betrayed another fraction of warmth.

During Galactus’ confrontation with the Elders of the Universe, the Surfer was taken by surprise when felt Galactus’ presence in his mind once again, and he instinctively recoiled, attempting to drive him out. He quickly realized, however, that unlike Galactus’ previous attempts to control him, this intrusion was brief and without any malicious intent. The Surfer found Galactus’ supposed curiosity highly peculiar at the time, and even more bizarre when it revealed itself again in the same manner during the initial incident with the Infinity Gems as Galactus allied himself with the heroes fighting against Thanos, and again when the Magus took control of the Gems.

Galactus’ unusually self-conscious and somewhat sheepish behavior influenced the Surfer to look back on his interactions with Galactus and examine his master’s actions in a way only achievable through hindsight. It was this retrospection that allowed Norrin to gradually piece together that Galactus hadn’t been scheming at all when he was looking into Norrin’s mind--indeed, far from it; he was searching for Norrin’s affirmation, however insignificant, and thus he was endeared to Norrin and earned the full extent of his trust as had the reverse evidently long been the case.

  
It was during their time apart that Galactus was finally overcome by the affliction that would eventually force the Surfer to destroy him; with the help of Red Shift, Galactus drove himself mad with his own hunger. Norrin Radd, within whom Galactus placed the most trust of all of his heralds, once again turned against him; this time in an act of mercy. Norrin Radd knelt, quietly shedding confused, brackish tears over Galactus as he was reduced to inert energy by his own tools of destruction, all at the behest of his dearest and most trusted herald.

Norrin grieved the loss of Galactus, which weighed heavily upon his heart, even though he knew that the Devourer would return in one form or another. This idea manifested when Galactus was resurrected by Franklin and Valeria Richards in order to quell the threat of Abraxas, who ran amok without the counter-balance of Galactus to keep him in check. Norrin felt a mild bitterness for those who wished Galactus alive only to defeat those who threatened their own existence, for he had come to be privy to the true face of Galactus as well as his most intimate thoughts and emotions, and he had developed an inclination towards the great Devourer since Norrin’s imprisonment on Earth.

As the Annihilation Wave advanced through the Universe, both the Surfer and Galactus were struck down by the Proemial Gods, Aegis and Tenebrous. They were imprisoned and used as batteries for Annihilus’ needs; however, with the help of Drax the Destroyer, the Surfer was freed and almost instinctively liberated Galactus. By Galactus’ decree, peace was not to be had; in his fury, he sent the Surfer to find Aegis and Tenebrous, and his wish was fulfilled. Knowing he would be vastly outmatched, Norrin held the Proemial Gods, whose power more than dwarfed his own, ultimately sacrificing himself to the energies of the Crunch to destroy them before Galactus could arrive.

  
Galactus reached the scene only moments later. Cradling Norrin’s disheveled, barely-living remains, he examined his herald’s mortality.

“Norrin Radd,” he murmured, peering from under his striated brow down at the twisted and broken body that lay in the palm of his hand, “time and time again you prove yourself to me.” And so was the Silver Surfer restored, for Galactus would not see his herald die that day. Once more, Galactus looked into Norrin’s mind as he regained consciousness, and Norrin turned his face upwards to contemplate his master’s grave, searching face.

“Yes, Galan,” he rasped, prompting Galactus’ eyes to flash in revelation, “I love you as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this little fic! If you enjoyed it, please leave a kudos and/or comment! If this gains enough interest, I may try updating/writing a sequel to this and expanding on some ideas I've had for both for this pairing (hint: Lifebringer/Ultimates arc) and a couple others I'm into right now. [:


End file.
